Ballerina turned Businesswoman: FancyPants

A few weeks ago, TENDUS brought you an interview with Échauffe™ Legwarmers co-founder Cameron Dieck. Today we look into the world of current Miami City Ballet dancer turned business woman, Emily Bromberg, as she discusses her business, FancyPants. If you haven’t heard of this hot new company, you are going to be so excited about their products. Founded alongside her mother, Ms. Bromberg hopes to bring inexpensive dance and yoga fashions to her consumers. Take it from every MCB dancer who now fashions her FancyPants: you won’t want to miss out on these comfortable, trendy, and practical pieces brought to you by real consumers who wanted to make something better than what you find in the store.

EB: Well, my mom and I have always enjoyed working together in her sewing room! She is an extremely talented designer and constructor for everything ranging from leotards to tutus, to my sister’s stunning wedding dress. She has perfected all of her patterns over decades and truly creates an immaculate product. That being said, back in 2009, Bikram yoga came into both of our lives. We both soon grew to love the practice but realized how expensive and simple “sweaty” yoga clothes really are! She started making prototypes and we would both try them out in yoga class. It was clear, within a few months, that we would have a great product for anyone looking for affordable, quality, American-made yoga wear.

RK: How long has this project been in the works?

EB: We’ve been on and off brainstorming, thinking, testing since around 2010. But we really meant business this past Spring of 2012. Taking advantage of my summer off, I made my way around Denver, Atlanta, and Miami introducing our new product!

RK: What process do you go through to design different pieces? What is the thought process behind the designs?

EB: I’m especially picky with how things fit (as any dancer would know!). Anytime I wore something I really liked, I would introduce it to her sewing room and we would talk about how we could tweak it and make it even better. We also thought of aspects that we wish yoga wear already had and tried to incorporate those aspects into different styles. For example, our “commando” shorts (props to my sister Stefanie Rossetti for the name) have a special extra panel of lining for the ladies so that, well, you can “go commando!”

Photo By Leigh-Ann Esty

RK: How were you able to find time to found a company while working full time with Miami City Ballet?

EB: Ah, the dreaded layoff! Made the best use of my time from May-July this summer! I knew it would be a good time to throw myself into the business so that I could learn as much as possible before our busy season started up again. Other than that, I try to focus at least a few week nights and a weekend day on FancyPants so that I can keep it all fresh. I never want it to lay dormant. Plus I’m so passionate about it, I don’t think I could!

RK: Have your colleagues been supportive of your new venture?

EB: I am lucky, being a part of MCB means that I have one of the best support systems! Everyone is so great and encouraging about my new endeavor! I even get a little healthy teasing which means FancyPants has already been accepted. I am having the best time with FancyPants at work! Plus I have such beautiful models, how could I go wrong?

RK: We love the name FancyPants! How did you come up with the name?

EB: As a kid, I used to hear people say things like “look at him and his fancy pants!” We thought it would be cute to use it for our line because we are going for a quality, high end product only without the giant price tag. We wanted to create something that people like us could afford, yet it would be just as “fancy” as all the others twice the price! Plus, a little playfulness in the name keeps things fun. Check out us and our FancyPants!

RK: In what ways do you hope that FancyPants will grow in the future?

EB: We hope to acquire a factory, or use of one. I’d love to be able to learn, chat, and brainstorm with all different kinds of Fancy Pants supporters (wearers). We always encourage feedback from anyone who wears FancyPants so that we can make our product the best it can be. I have a great time perfecting and nitpicking things so I will never become weary of pushing FancyPants to new levels. Eventually we would love to have a store too! But we will always keep in mind the best quality with the most reasonable price tag throughout our growth. It’s my opinion that manifesting and then maintaining a project’s original motto, is the best way to keep a business going! We very much look forward to our future!

Photo by Allen Birnbach

You can enter to win your very own pair of the FancyPants shown above!!! Visit TENDUS Facebook Page and simply “like” to enter!

FancyPants’ website is coming soon, so for now follow them on Facebook. If you fancy a pair, contact emily@fancypantsusa.com.

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2 Comments

Lisa Copeland - September 27, 2012

Very cute looks. I especially like the colorful waistband on the blue crops. Will definitely check out FancyPants.